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The moment she saw him, a choked sob escaped her lips and she began running to him. Sebastian turned, saw her running, and opened his arms wide. A grin lit up his already beautiful face, making him even more dangerously handsome.

Isabel launched herself right into his chest and Sebastian’s strong arms enveloped her. “Don’t you ever run off on me like that again, Sebastian,” she chastised, her voice muffled from her face being smashed into the hollow of his shoulder. He ran his fingers through her long, black hair and inhaled her scent, and his breath was warm on her cheek. He must have just eaten.

“I can’t make a promise like that because life is too unpredictable,” he replied, and Isabel began to giggle. That was so Sebastian! She pulled her face away from his chest and looked up into his face, studying every line and freckle. He did the same, staring as if he’d rediscovered the world’s most valuable treasure.

“Then at least promise you’ll stop keeping secrets from me. We’ve been married for centuries, after all. I’d think you would trust me by now with anything on your mind.”

Sebastian opened his mouth to speak, then froze with it hanging open like a fish. “Do you remember?!” he finally asked, once his brain had managed to formulate a complete sentence. Isabel nodded and he lifted her into his arms, spinning in a joyful circle before setting her back down and kissing her deeply.

At first she was startled by this development because they’d not kissed yet in this life, much less with the fervor and passion which now poured from his lips into hers. But it took only a moment for memory and instinct to kick in. She kissed him back desperately, attempting to make up for lost time.

The sound of a clearing throat broke the moment. Both Isabel and Sebastian looked over to Remus, who stood next to Victor with a look of disgust on his face. “Yes, very nice, she remembers you for the fifteenth time or whatever. Very touching. Can we get back to the important issue now?”

Sebastian glared at Remus, but Isabel blushed and pulled away. “I suppose there is time for happy reunions later, when the sourpusses aren’t around to be jealous,” Sebastian said, his gaze full of daggers. “There are some things I need to tell you, Isabel. And…I’m pretty sure you’re going to be angry at me.”

“She bloody well should be,” Remus interrupted, earning himself another eye-dagger attack.

Sebastian ignored him, dropping to a knee and gazing up at Isabel. “I need you to forgive me, Isabel, because I’ve been unknowingly doing something horrible to you for centuries. And I didn’t immediately jump to correcting my mistake when I learned about it, because I was being selfish.”

“Your paintings have been stealing my soul,” Isabel interjected. When Sebastian blinked at her with shock on his face, she sighed while chewing on her bottom lip. “The shadow tried to tell me, while I was stuck inside the painting. And then Victor explained everything.ThatI’ve forgiven you for because you didn’t know. But I’m still angry that you kept the truth from me. I still don’t even know what this ‘solution’ is.”

Sebastian’s head fell and he stared at the floor. “I have to burn every single painting of you. But the thought of destroying my paintings was impossible! I was so sure that I could find another way to clean up this mess that I didn’t think you’d ever need to know. But after running away from the truth, now I know there’s no avoiding the consequences of my actions. For either of us.”

“So you left me to suffer alone for days for nothing. Sounds about right.” Isabel’s lips pursed and she looked down at Sebastian like a disgraced knight. “Did you at least learnanythingwhile you were running around forbidden territory?”

“I didn’t go anywhere specifically forbidden,” he insisted, “but I did learn more about my magic. Unfortunately…all it did was give us more bad news. At least we’re a little more prepared?”

Isabel knew he was trying to sound upbeat, but deep inside, she knew he was maskinghard.“And what is this bad news, Sebastian? Having to destroy your paintings is awful, and I can only imagine how that feels. But you’re acting like there’s something even worse that you’re still keeping from me.”

Remus, Victor, and Josephine all stared at Sebastian, each with varying expectant looks on their faces. He gritted his teeth, the shame practically dripping off of him. “It’s going to be painful,” he admitted. “For both of us. You were unconscious for the first one, but you still writhed and screamed as ifyouwere on fire, and not the painting. And that was just one of them.”

“And you have hundreds,” Isabel whispered, suddenly terrified. Instead of the tongue-lashing she’d intended to give Sebastian for keeping secrets, she found herself unable to speak. He nodded and her knees buckled. She started to fall and he shot to his feet to catch her before she injured herself.

“I don’t know how this is going to go, Isabel. I don’t even know how our bodies will handle it. But I do know that we…well,Ihave to gather up all of my paintings and burn them. It might be wise for you to go back to your family while I do, just in case.”

Isabel looked at him with wide eyes. “In case what? I die?”

“Yes. In case you die.”

CHAPTER32

Venice, Italy. 13 June, 2007

Sebastian stared into Isabel’s eyes and fought back the nausea which roiled in his stomach. “Why don’t we go back to my room and talk about how we want to handle this?” he asked, reaching for her hand. But she pulled it back, apparently not wanting him to touch her right now. Not that he could blame her.

He looked up to Victor in case the master vampire had anything else to say, but Victor merely said, “This is your problem. You know how to solve it. Make it happen.”

Sebastian looked from Victor to Remus to Josephine, then finally to Isabel. “I want you to listen to my plan and wait until the end to protest, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed. “Go ahead.”

Sebastian rubbed his sweaty palms on the legs of his pants, trying to work up the courage to get the words out. He hated the plan, but it was the best he could come up with. “So I want you to go back to your family, while I gather up the paintings. There’s no reason for you to risk being sucked into another one and me not arrive in time to save you. Once I have all of them, I’ll let you know by squeezing my necklace. When you feel yours grow warm, you’ll know I’m ready to start the fire.”

He could feel the anxious energy rolling off Isabel as she struggled to let him get to the end of the plan. He placed his palm on her knee and continued, “You’ll know when the fire starts. If there’s any way to get to the hospital beforehand, or even be sedated, maybe that would help your body make it through the trauma. But…if it doesn’t, at least you’ll be around the people you love.”

“No I won’t!” Isabel interrupted, unable to hold back anymore. “I know you think your plan is sparing me, but you’re actually being selfish! What am I supposed to do, knowing my husband is risking everything while I sit at home? How would I possibly be able to act like everything is normal? I willnotbe going back to the US while you do all the work. I’m going to be at your side the entire time. I’ll write my family a letter, and if…if I die, then you can send it to them. Becauseyouare the person I love. I love my family, butourbond has transcended generations.”

Her entire body was trembling. Whether from anger or fear Sebastian didn’t know, but he sat quietly in the face of it. “My plan is for the two of us to gather the paintingstogether.And then…I want to go into battle with your venom ringing in my veins. Maybe if my body gives out when the shadow is destroyed, I’ll lose my immunity and be able to join you inrealimmortality.”